LANCASTER, Pa. – The Lancaster Stormers broke a 4-4 tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth then withstood a Rockers rally in the ninth to down High Point 5-4 on Friday night at Penn Medicine Park.

Tied at 4-4, Lancaster’s Nick Lucky doubled home Aaron Schunk with the go-ahead run with one out in the eighth. High Point reliever Alec Barger (L, 1-3) came on in the eighth and allowed a single to Schunk who stole second before scoring on Lucky’s double.

The Rockers put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the ninth against Stormers closer Lenny Torres (S, 3). Aidan Brewer singled to left with one out before Torres walked Ryan McCarthy. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch but Torres was able to strikeout Luke Napleton and Ivan Melendez to seal the win.

The Rockers are now 15-16 in the second half and 44-50 for the full season. Lancaster stands at 14-16 and 49-44.

The Rockers broke the ice with a single run in the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. Brewer reached on a double to center, moved to third on a wild pitch by Lancaster starter Matt Swarmer and scored on a sac fly to right-center by Napleton.

Lancaster surged ahead 4-1 when Tristin English hit a three-run homer of Rockers starter David Hess in the third.

Daniel Blair relieved Hess in the fourth and allowed a single to Joseph Carpenter who scored on a double by David Smith to put the Stormers in front 4-1. Blair went three innings and allowed just three hits and one run while striking out three.

The Rockers cut into the lead at 4-2 with a run in the fifth. Ty Hubbard led off the frame with a walk and scored on a double by Brewer, his second two-bagger of the game.

The Rockers tied the game in the top of the eighth when Melendez singled ahead of Hogan Windish’s homer to right field, leaving the game tied at 4-4. It was Windish’s first homer as a Rocker since signing on Tuesday. Phil Diehl (W, 6-1) allowed the Windish homer in the eight but earned the win.

Saturday’s game two of the three-game series will feature High Point’s Sam Ryan (0-3, 8.56) taking the mound to face Lancaster’s Noah Bremer (6-5, 5.45)

Rocker fans can follow the action live on DugoutTV.org or the audio broadcast on the free app MixLR.